Lima's vision to revitalize

Aug. 9—LIMA — The Lima City Council met Monday evening, where Mayor Sharetta Smith appointed a Chief of Staff.

City Council approved the position and salary for $90,000 annually. Smith was the previous Chief of Staff before her inauguration as mayor. According to Smith, a Chief of Staff personnel will be announced this month.

The council also approved the ordinance for the Better Together Program. This will allow the mayor to advertise for bids and enter into a contract for the Better Together Demolition of Dilapidated Properties Project. The plan has a total of $1.5 million in funds. The project will demolish around 133 homes.

"The city is constantly evaluating properties in the city that need to be demolished," said Smith. "We keep an ongoing list according to our building code, of what qualifies a structure to be demolished."

Council also approved the ordinance to rehabilitate State Route 81 throughout the City. According to the correspondence, the project limits are along Allentown Road and North Street from west of Cornell Drive to Jameson Avenue and along Jackson Street and Findlay Road from North Street to Sugar Street. The ODOT will provide 80% of funds at around $460,000 and the City of Lima is providing a 20% match in funding.

The Vision 2040 plan is available for public comment. Cody Doyle, the associate planner of the Allen County Regional Planning Commission, presented the plan to the council. A part of the vision is to revitalize downtown Lima. Doyle weighed in on the perception of crime.

"We pulled a crime map and we redacted all the instances of domestic violence," said Doyle. "When we looked at the crime map that is located in the plan, it truly is one of the safest areas in Lima."

The Lima Police Department also updated City Council on a new strategic plan to police Lima. "We plan to go back to district policing where officers are permanently assigned to an area," said Chief Angel Cortes. "The primary and secondary officers are responsible for that area. The purpose is to get people in that area to know their officers and for the officers to get to know the people they are servicing."

Lima Police Department Chief Angel Cortes agrees downtown Lima is one of the safest places in Lima. "There is a misconception," said Cortes. "It is a safe place to be. We always have officers patrolling the area and the police department is located downtown. People should come down here and enjoy what it has to offer."